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Steve Collins..'s Articles in Arts and Entertainment

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  • Why I Prefer Used Audio Consoles
    If you are looking for a new sound system for a recording studio or for your live sound venue, new may not be the best option. After all, a brand new digital audio mixer can cost tens of thousands of dollars. Upgrading your old sound system does not have to drain the till, however. There are some excellent pre-owned consoles to be had for a fraction of the cost.
  • Why I Bought Peter Pan at the Disney Movie Club
    Based on the famous play, and succeeding novel, by J.M. Barrie, "Peter Pan" had been slated to follow the wild success of "Bambi." Walt Disney had planned to make the film as early as 1939, even going so far as to parley the rights with the Great Ormond Street Hospital (who had been given the rights to play by Barrie). The outbreak of World War II waylaid the production until 1949. The film was not released until 1953.
  • When XBox Meets Disney, the Results are Awesome
    Because of the internet, the world is a radically altered place, and changes happen overnight. It has metamorphosed the way we make friends with one another, the way we learn, and the way we entertain ourselves. About a year ago, for instance, the Xbox Live Marketplace was introduced to let users to download movie rentals on demand. This innovative service was embraced immediately. Within seven months, more than 10 million movies had been rented via Xbox's online downloading service. Currently, it is the only company offering on demand movies in high definition.
  • Wendy Wu Is The Best Action Hero To Come Along In A Long Time!
    From Bruce Lee to Jackie Chan to the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, audiences have had a love affair with martial arts adventure for just about a half-century. Only a little while ago, another high-kicking champion burst out of the shopping mall and into movie-goers' imagination-Wendy Wu: Homecoming Warrior.
  • Vidigreet Makes Sending Video Greetings Simple and Speedy
    Have you ever hoped for a simpler way to stay in contact with friends? Sure, everyone has cell phones and email in the modern world, but sometimes you just want to say "Howdy!" without the commitment of a thirty phone conversation or the effort of typing a clever message. That is where video greetings are useful!
  • The Tiny Hero Of Piglets Big Movie Is Sure To Please
    Walt Disney is famous for creating characters that people remember fondly long beyond the boundaries of childhood. Among these are the charming collection of characters who inhabit the Hundred Acre Wood. Disney?s numerous Winnie the Pooh tales follow the plots of stories originally created by English author A.A. Milne in the 1920s.
  • The Start of the Pioneering Disney Studios
    The Walt Disney Company was founded in 1923 by brothers Walt and Roy Disney in Los Angeles. The Disney brothers started by creating a series of live-action/animated short films collectively named The Alice Comedies. Within four months of the first screenings, the brothers were urged to relocate to larger facilities, dubbed "Disney Bros. Studio." According their official website, in 1925 the Disney brothers made a deposit on a lot on Hyperion Avenue in the Silver Lake district of Los Angeles. This lot would house the Disney Studio for the next 14 years, seeing the beginning of such beloved characters as Mickey Mouse, Pluto, Goofy, and Donald Duck.
  • The Shaggy Dog - Disney's First Ever Live Action Comedy
    The Shaggy Dog is a black and white 1959 Walt Disney movie about a youngster who is transformed into a sheep dog by a magic ring. Aside from its comic merit, it is noteworthy as being the first Walt Disney live-action comedy ever made. A testament to its appeal is the number of remakes and spin-offs based on this source material.
  • The Innovative Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
    The creation of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs began sometime in early 1934. This was Walt Disney's first effort at producing an animated film. To this point, Disney had effectively produced a series of animated shorts entitled The Alice Comedies as well as Mickey Mouse and Silly Symphonies.
  • The Fox and the Hound - Bright New Talent for Disney
    The Fox and the Hound is an animated feature produced by Walt Disney Productions. The twenty-fourth animated feature in the Disney animated canon, The Fox and the Hound was released in 1981 to generally positive reviews and great box-office success. The story was based on the book of the same name written by Daniel P. Mannix in 1967.
  • The Emperor's New Groove - Nuttier Than a Fruitcake!
    Most fans agree that The Emperor's New Groove lived up to its tagline: "nuttier than a holiday fruitcake!" It was a critically lauded, if not ultimately successful, animated feature, and the first Disney animated film to ever feature a pregnant woman. Released in December 2000, The Emperor's New Groove mixes a careful balance of comedy designed to appeal both to adults and children. It marked the 39th film in Disney's canon and was initially slated to be a traditional musical along the lines of The Lion King. Though the title plays upon the Danish fairytale, The Emperor's New Clothes, by Hans Christen Andersen, the original story was based on Mark Twain's The Prince and the Pauper. The initial incarnation of the project was titled Kingdom of the Sun, with the creative team behind The Lion King, director Roger Allers and producer Randy Fullmer, at the helm. So prestigious was the production that Allers and Fullmer contracted Sting to write the music for the film.
  • The Country Bear Jamboree
    When Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom threw wide its doors in 1971, it featured a fun audio-animatronic show called The Country Bear Jamboree. As the name suggests, the show featured bears singing country music. The show was such a hit that capacity was expanded, Disneyland got its own Jamboree, and a duplicate theatre was built to hold fans.
  • The Aristocats - A Regal Classic
    The tagline for The Aristocats was, fittingly, "Meet the cats who know where it's atfor fun, music and adventure!" The Aristocats was the twentieth animated movie in the Disney canon. It was purportedly the last film to receive Walt Disney's personal approval and was the first animated feature released after his death. It was originally intended to be screened in two installments on television, but was quickly promoted to feature status. It should be mentioned that the basic premise of the film, an animated comedy about cats in France, had been realized by UPA with the 1962 release of Gay Purr-ee, starring the voice of Judy Garland.
  • Tarzan - Advanced Technology Coupled with a Classic Story
    Tarzan is the Academy Award-winning animated movie produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation. It was released by Walt Disney Pictures in 1999, becoming the thirty-seventh film in the Disney animated features canon. Based on the famous story by Edgar Rice Burroughs, the story follows the adventures of a feral child raised in the African jungle who returns to England to reclaim his birthright. This adaptation of the Tarzan tale is the first animated version.
  • Sharkboy and Lavagirl, A Quirky Classic
    The Adventures of Shark Boy and Lava Girl takes viewers on an unpredictable ride in the grand tradition of creative films such as Willie Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, which is set in a bizarre world, and films such as The Never-ending Story, in which mistreatment by bullies sends the victim into a dream world where he can be a hero. The juxtaposition of fantasy and reality in the film is demands your full attention.
  • Sending Video Greetings is now Quick, Easy and Fun
    Have you ever wanted a simpler way to stay in contact with friends? Sure, everyone has cell phones and email these days, but sometimes you just want to say "Hey there!" without the commitment of a extended phone conversation or the effort of thinking up a clever message. That is where video greetings are great!
  • Robin Hood, one of the most Successful Disney films.
    Robin Hood, the twenty-first animated film released by Walt Disney Studios, premiered on November 8, 1973. It was the first feature the studio released that had no creative input from Disney himself, who died in 1966, and had many studio insiders doubting the ability of the studio to carry on without him. The success or failure of this one project would make or break the most successful animation studio in U.S. history.
  • Rapunzel is Disney's forthcoming Groundbreaking movie
    What's new on the horizon for Disney? Judging by the tremendous amount of buzz surrounding both Bolt, set for release in 2008, and Rapunzel, set for a Christmas 2010 release, Disney is poised for greater glory. Both films are breaking new ground in the realm of animation and both are enjoying a new cultural hunger for fantasy and entertainment. Indeed, many believe these films could spark the next Disney Renaissance. Whereas Bolt is an original story, Rapunzel, of course, sees Disney revisiting the familiar realm of the fairy tale. Upon its release, it will become the 49th film in Disney's animated feature canon.
  • Pocahontas - A Legend Comes To Life
    In 1995, Walt Disney Pictures released the first Disney feature where, as the tagline states, "an American legend comes to life." Pocahontas, the first Disney film based on an genuine historic figure, was the 33rd animated film ever released by Disney Studios and marked the high-watermark for the Disney Renaissance which had begun in 1989 with The Little Mermaid. This film was one of the few Disney films to ever portray an interracial romance (between Pocahontas and John Smith).
  • Oliver & Company - The First Disney Movie With Attitude!
    Oliver & Company was, as its tagline made clear, "the first Disney movie with attitude!" Inspired by Charles Dickens's novel, Oliver Twist, the feature marked a new direction and a new resurgence for Walt Disney Studios. It was arguably the most successful Disney film of the 1980's and would pave the way for the Disney Renaissance of the 1990's, begun by The Little Mermaid. It was so successful that then-Vice President of Animation, Peter Schneier announced the company would release an animated feature annually.
  • Mickey Mouse Club Still is still relevant with Baby Boomers
    Those who were teens in the 1950's remember with fondness coming home from school in the latter years of the 50's to watch Walt Disney Studios' Mickey Mouse Club. The second television show offered by Disney, The Mickey Mouse Club was televised in part to help finance the creation of the Disneyland theme park. From 5:00-6:00 in its first two seasons and from 5:00-5:30 in its last two, American teens were glued to the television.
  • Mary Poppins, An Oscar-Winning Classic
    Mary Poppins is the much-loved musical produced by Walt Disney and starring Julie Andrews. Released in 1964, the film was based on the best-selling children's book written by P.L. Travers and illustrated by Mary Shepard. It enjoyed extraordinary success when it was released, and was ranked by the American Film Institute as the 6th best musical of all time, just above A Star Is Born and below Cabaret.
  • Home on the Range: Bust a Moo
    Come on people and "bust a moo." When Home on the Range was released on April 2, 2004, it was designated to be the last traditionally animated feature for Disney. The studio proclaimed, to the surprise of industry insiders, that all features following Home on the Range would be rendered with CGI imagery rather than the CAPS method, which had been in use since The Rescuers Down Under. Indeed, Disney's traditional method of animation dates back to Snow White and the Seven Dwarves. This decision compelled Disney to fire most of its animation department.
  • High School Musical - Popular Entertainment That's Here To Stay
    Children's entertainment is continually changing. Television shows that were popular one minute quickly disappear; the current "hot" song roars on the scene and just as quickly, fades out. However, kids always gravitate toward appealing characters in compelling stories about enduring elements of their lives. The ongoing popularity of Disney's High School Musical is due to the way it touches many of the elements that kids like.
  • Hannah Montana: Life's What You Make it Teaches Valuable Lessons
    You can tell when you have made it to the top when you receive a reference on The Simpsons. Miley Cyrus, aka Hannah Montana, broke that popularity barrier in December, 2007 when Bart had to write on the blackboard "The capital of Montana is not Hannah." In the same month, Wheel of Fortune featured the celebrity in one of its puzzles.
  • Do Not Overlook Lilo and Stitch
    Lilo & Stitch is an animated film released by Walt Disney Pictures in June of 2002. It was only the second feature created at the animation studios at Disney-MGM Studios in Orlando, Florida. It marks only the sixth Disney film to be set in present times, and had originally been slated to be set in rural Kansas. The setting was soon changed to Hawaii to facilitate a new take on the story.
  • Disney DVDs are Not Just for Kids
    Nobody wants to be the parent who allows their children watch DVDs all the time or who uses the television as a baby sitter. However, on a dull day or for a special occasion, it is great to be able to have a shelf of movies that are time honored fare for kids. It is also a sanity saver to have a portable DVD player to entertain kids on interminable car rides or airplane flights or on the occasional days when your children have to accompany you to the office!
  • Cinderella iii Lives Up to the WOnder of the Original
    People are fond of referencing Cinderella, gleefully joking about the magical midnight alteration of the star character from an enchanted princess into her old self. The 1950 Disney full length cartoon was nominated for three Academy Awards and has remained a classic for nearly sixty years.
  • Brother Bear - One of Disney's Biggest Successes To Date
    Welcome to a world where animals rule and the only human around isn't human anymore. Welcome to the world of Brother Bear. Marking the 43rd film in Disney's line of animated features, the film, originally entitled Bears, marked a short return to traditionally hand-drawn animation. It was the third feature completed at the Disney-MGM Studios in Orlando, Florida, and subsequently the last. The studio shut down the Orlando facility in an effort to produce computer animated features.
  • Beauty and the Beast, the Peak of the Disney Renaissance
    Beauty and the Beast is the 30th animated movie produced by Walt Disney Studio. Based on the classic French fairytale made popular by Madame Beaumont's story published in 1756, the film premiered at Disney's El Capitan Theater in Los Angeles in 1991. Beauty and the Beast is still one of the best known and beloved films in the Disney canon.
  • Bambi, Disney's 5th Animated Classic
    In 1942, Walt Disney released his fifth animated movie, Bambi. It was based on the Austrian book Bambi, A Life In The Woods, by Felix Salten. Published in 1923, the book followed the adventures of a male roe deer from birth to maturity. The book was popular both in Europe and the United States. Salten, whose real name was Siegmund Salzmann, was Hungarian by birth but spent most of his time in Vienna. The popularity of the book inspired Salten to write a sequel entitled Bambi's Children.
  • Atlantis: The Lost Empire - A Gem to Rediscover
    Atlantis: The Lost Empire was released by Walt Disney Pictures in the summer of 2001. It was written for the screen by Tab Murphy, who had also co-written Tarzan and The Hunchback of Notre Dame for Disney. This is the 40th movie in the Walt Disney animated film canon, and only the second Disney film ever, since The Black Cauldron, to be stamped with a PG rating.
  • Aladdin - The Most Successful Movie of 1992
    Aladdin is the multi-award-winning feature from Walt Disney Pictures. Released to rave reviews in 1992, Aladdin was the thirty-first animated feature released by Disney Studios. It was released at the peak of the Disney renaissance that had begun with the release of The Little Mermaid. It was the most successful movie of 1992, earning over $217 million domestically and $504 million worldwide.
  • A Fun Space Age Adaptation of a Classic
    Treasure Planet is a science fiction animated movie produced by Walt Disney Pictures. Released in 2002, Treasure Planet marked the 42nd animated feature in the Disney canon. It is a science fiction variation of Robert Louis Stevenson's popular novel Treasure Island. It employed the ground-breaking technique of featuring two-dimensional animation over three-dimensional backgrounds. Indeed, this technique was used effectively on the character of John Silver, where his cybernetic arm was computer generated and the remainder of his body hand-drawn.
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